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Pockrass Lecture to address audience perceptions of media realism

September 18, 2013

Pockrass Lecture to address audience perceptions of media realism

A leading media scholar will present his research examining audience perceptions of media realism during a free public lecture at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 21, in Foster Auditorium of Paterno Library on Penn State’s University Park campus.

Rick Busselle, associate professor in the School of Media & Communication at Bowling Green University, will present the fall Robert M. Pockrass Memorial Lecture titled “That’s Pretty Realistic ... If You Think About It: Media Effects and Audience Perceptions of (Un)Realism.”

The lecture is co-sponsored by the College of Communications and University Libraries.

Busselle’s research investigates the relations between narrative experiences and perceptions of people and problems in the actual world. Specifically, he is interested in the notion of realism, the extent to which media consumers perceive fictional people and events differently from their real world counterparts, and the role perceived realism plays in drawing audiences into or driving them out of narrative experiences.

He has published in Communication Theory, Communication Research, Media Psychology and The Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, among other scholarly journals and academic proceedings. He is currently a co-editor of the journal Media Psychology. He also has produced television news, worked in motorsports as freelance videographer, produced corporate promotional videos, and spent 15 years in the Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University.

The Pockrass Lecture was named after the late Professor Robert M. Pockrass, a member of Penn State’s journalism faculty from 1948 to 1977. Pockrass, who specialized in public opinion and popular culture, served as the graduate officer and taught radio news writing.